A New Beginning
by Raycheld22
Summary: When she can't keep her in check, Buffy sends Dawn to stay with Angel and his crew...things heat up between her and COnnor. After S7 Buffy. S5 angel did not happen! Please R
1. Chapter 1

A New Beginning

Pairings: Dawn/Connor; Buffy/Angel; Fred/Wesley; Spike/Faith; Eventually Willow/Oz.

Rating: Pg-13 to start out. Might get to an R

Disclaimer: I own nothing! This is all Joss, and my story is strictly for entertainment purposes.

Author's Note: This story is set a couple of years after Season 7 of Buffy. Season 5 of Angel didn't happen, mainly because I didn't like that story line. Connor is also in the picture and him and Angel somewhat get along now.

Summary: Unable to keep Dawn in check, Buffy sends her to stay with Angel. Angel teaches her how the system at AI works and lets her patrol with them. Things start to heat up between Dawn and Connor.

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Chapter 1

Dawn was in trouble…again. She was in trouble lately, or so it seemed. It wasn't really her fault, Dawn reasoned, she absolutely hated living in Rome. She missed her friends from school…even though the school was no longer there. She missed Angel and being able to hang out with scoobies, but most of all…she missed Spike. The thing that grated on her the most was that they still treated her like she was the fifteen year old klepto from the past. She was twenty now and none of them seemed ready to accept it. Her latest rough patch with the group was a testimony to that. Dawn hadn't done anything wrong. She'd taken to patrolling and fighting on her own…she was good at it. Buffy had freaked when she found out about it, telling her that there were enough slayers in the world now and they didn't her help…nice. Well, what else was she supposed to do around the place? She couldn't go to a University because Buffy had her on lockdown. Faith had caught her this last time and had apologetically brought her back, and she was currently waiting on Buffy to come back. As if on queue, Buffy barged through the door with a slam, looking pissed.

"Dawn, what the hell am I going to do with you?" Dawn stood up, equally as angry, if not more.

"You can stop treating me like a child, Buffy! I'm old enough to take care of myself now, but you and your stupid slayer squad, won't let me! You've even got Xander following me around now, what the hell is that about? I'm not a kid anymore, Buffy, I'm twenty years old. You are going to have to accept that I'm an adult and you can't tell me what to do anymore!" Buffy crossed the room to stand in front of her.

"I will treat you like an adult when you start acting like one, Dawn! We've got over a thousand slayers now, yet you continue to put yourself at risk. You should be taking your online courses, but I've been getting emails about how behind you are. Am I going to have to lock you in your suite from now on? I really need you to grow up here, Dawn and take responsibility for yourself because I can't keep taking care of you." Dawn stared at her sister for a long moment, tears starting to form. She took a deep breath and spoke really quietly.

"Then let me go, Buffy. You're killing me here. I have grown up, but none of you seem to see it. I can take care of myself, but you won't let me. You guys are slowly suffocating me to death." Buffy scoffed and shook her head.

"Dawn, just where do you think you're going to go? You're not going anywhere where I can't keep an eye on you." Before Dawn could respond to the harsh words, Giles walked into the room and spoke for her.

"She can go to Angel and his group, Buffy." Buffy spun around and glared at him, clearly not liking the suggestion. Dawn wasn't sure she liked it either.

"That is so very not helpful, Giles!" Giles took his glasses off and sighed at his slayer.

"Buffy, I've been watching the way you treat Dawn recently. She hadn't really done anything to warrant your behavior. You don't let her research anymore, you don't her in the meetings anymore…you've completely shut her out. Now, I've spoken with Angel and he thinks it's a great idea. He needs some help with research, since Cordy is in a coma. He agrees to keep an eye on her for you because they've got a small crew. Buffy, you have to let her go or she'll grow to absolutely hate you." Buffy stared at Giles for a moment before turned back to Dawn, with a tear running down her cheek.

"You will not accompany them on patrols, Dawn. That's my one condition for letting you go." Giles intercepted again with a soft look at Dawn.

"Supervised, she can do what she wants, Buffy. She's been very well training by you, Faith, and the senior slayers. Plus, she is an adult…and you can't stop her."

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Dawn groaned as her cab pulled up outside of Angel's new Hotel. He'd bought a newly closed down one so that it wasn't as run down. He'd also done some construction to the rooms, though she wasn't sure what. Dawn paid the cabbie and stepped out to the front stoop of the place. She contemplated leaving right then, they couldn't really stop her now. She stepped up to the door that read "Angel Investigations" and walked through to a deserted lobby. She stepped further in ad saw that it was completely empty. Smiling to herself, Dawn turned around, thinking Angel was giving her an out. When she turned her back on the room, however, a soft voice sounded behind her that made her jump.

"You're not leaving already, are you Dawnie?" Dawn turned around to see Angel, who was being followed by Wesley and three other people she'd never met before. Angel had been the one to speak, so Dawn just shrugged her shoulders, defeated.

"No, just taking a look around your digs…tis cool." Angel smirked at her obvious lie, but didn't say anything.

"Sorry we weren't out here to greet you, Dawn, we were in a meeting. How was your flight?" Again, she shrugged. She liked Angel a lot, it just felt like another prison to her.

"It was long." This got a chuckle from Wesley.

"You really are Buffy's sister, that's for sure." Angel smiled in agreement and Dawn fought to keep the frown and annoyance off of her face. Angel stepped forward from the group, careful to stay away from the sunlight streaming in.

"Dawn, I don't know if Buffy's told you about him, but this is Connor…my son. This also Fred and Gunn. Other then Lorne, who is at our club, that's the team. Well…and Cordelia…anyway. Connor will take you to your suite. Go ahead and get some sleep, and we'll talk tonight about things, okay?" When Connor stepped forward, Dawn's breath caught in her throat. She'd had absolutely no idea how gorgeous Angel's son was. He reached down to pick up one of the three bags she'd brought, but Dawn protested.

"That's okay, you don't have to do that." Connor raised an eyebrow, then grabbed two of her bags.

"It's a pretty long walk…humor me." Dawn sighed as she followed him to her room.

"So…you're Angel's son?" The boy turned to look at her briefly. Dawn blushed because she knew it was the lamest line ever.

"Yep." Dawn didn't speak again, just enjoyed the view of his backside. When they finally stopped walking, they were on the fourth floor. Connor used a key he had in his pocket, pushed open her door, and walked into a living room. Dawn stopped in the doorway, completely shocked at what she was looking at. Connor sat her bags down and turned to look at her when he didn't hear her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Dawn nodded after a moment, then moved into the room with him.

"Yeah, it's just…it's so much bigger then I expected." He nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah, dad went kind of crazy when Giles first called him. He immediately started construction on four of the rooms to make you an apartment of sorts. You've got a living room, huge bathroom, bedroom, and a walk-in closet. The kitchen is off of the lobby." Dawn paused and turned back to look at him.

"Wait, when did construction on this place start?" Connor shrugged, not seeing her confused look.

"Dad started the day after Giles called, so about two months." Dawn gasped and stared at him. Connor faced her and gave her a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" Dawn felt her emotions finally getting the best of her. Giles had seen it two months ago and hadn't told her anything. Dawn was completely horrified when she felt a tear start slipping down her cheek. She immediately turned around so he couldn't see her. It was just her luck! She meets a hot guy and she starts bawling in front of him. She stiffened when she felt to soft hands on her shoulders. When she turned around to ask him to stop, he pulled her into a light hug.

"Hey, don't cry…please? Dad didn't say much, just said that you were having major issues with your sister and needed to get away. We're kind of short handed around here, so we're hoping that you stay. Look, I'm just down the hallway and I know you want to be alone., but if you need anything, I'm in room 424." Dawn lifted her head, recomposed, and smiled.

"Thanks, Connor, that's really nice of you. I mean, you don't know me from Eve, so I appreciate you being nice to me." Connor, clearly embarrassed, shrugged.

"It's no big deal. It's like six in the morning, so you should get some sleep. Dad usually gets up around eight every night, so you've got plenty of time to relax. I'll leave you along now, here's your key." Dawn accepted the key that he held out to her. So…he was sexy and sweet…nice. When the door closed behind him, Dawn looked around the suite and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. When she found the bedroom, she crawled into, hugged a pillow, and immediately started sobbing. She felt as if she was being exiled here because they didn't want her in Rome. Sure, she didn't want to be in Rome at all, but her family was there…and she wasn't wanted. Dawn fell asleep sometime later, her sobs echoing through the room.

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When Dawn woke up, she looked at the clock and saw that she'd been asleep for almost twelve hours. It was almost seven at night and she sat up, completely groggy. She got off of the bed, and went into the living room to grab her shower bag. After she'd showered, changed, and cleaned herself up, she exited her room, not bothering to lock it. When she got to the lobby, she found Gunn sitting at a table reading a book. Dawn tried not to disturb him, but she was in desperate need for some food. When she walked past him, he looked up and smiled.

"Hi, Dawn, I'm Gunn. Were you looking for something?" Dawn looked back at him with a sheepish grin on her face.

"I was looking for the kitchen. I'm absolutely starved, I didn't mean to sleep as late as I did." Gunn chuckled and stood up.

"Hey, you just flew across the world, of course you're tired. It's my night to cook anyway and the gang will be down shortly. You can keep me company while I cook." Dawn followed him to the kitchen and found that she really liked Gunn, he was funny. They talked about her life in Sunnydale, he told her about his sister getting turned, and she told him about being the key. When she finished her story about Glory, he whistled_._

"Damn, Dawnie, you've been through hell, haven't you? We'll let you relax if you want, though we are in desperate need of a good researcher. I'll admit I'm not that good, so that only leaves Fred, Wesley, and Angel. The kid and I are more artillery aficionados. We've even started inventing some stuff to make slaying easier." After a few more minutes of talking, people started to trickle in to investigate the progress. Fred came in first, and propped herself on the counter, looking shyly at Dawn. Wesley came in next and wrapped his arm around Fred's shoulder. He smiled over at Dawn.

"How did you like your room? I told Angel that it was way too much pink, but he insisted." Dawn giggled and shook her head.

"The room is totally awesome. I was just in a room in Rome. It was bigger then like a roadside motel, but it's a closet compared that one upstairs. You guys didn't have to go all out for me, you know." Angel entered the room next, and spoke as he was reaching into the fridge.

"Eh, it was no problem, Dawn, I rather liked designing how the room would look. After we eat, we'll all sit down and have a talk, okay? I don't really keep things from my crew, so they pretty much know the whole story as to what happened over there. We're going to have to discuss patrolling that you're wanting to do." Dawn felt her face go red in mortification and she started to get angry. As if he could smell her mood, Angel held up a hand in surrender.

"I just mean, Dawn, that I don't want you going out there alone. If you feel the need to hit something, take Gunn or Connor. You can even go down to the basement, we've got a full gym down there." Dawn stood up from her leaning position and looked at Angel suspiciously.

"You'll let met patrol?" Angel smiled sadly.

"Dawn, you're a grown up who knows that the boogeyman exists. You can also handle yourself from what I've heard from Faith. Just so you know, I don't let anyone go out by themselves. If Connor or Gunn do it, I ream them for it. It's just simple precautions really." Dawn looked around the room to all of the smiling faces.

"Wow…" Gunn laughed and pulled her into a brotherly hug.

"Don't worry, kid, anytime you want to fight some uglies, I'm there." Angel stepped forward and spoke to her very softly.

"I'm not going to smother you like Buffy did, Dawn. Sure, she was just worried about you, but she did go a bit overboard. We'll discuss this more in detail after dinner, but I just wanted you to know that." Dawn felt herself getting emotional again and quickly excused herself. When she darted into the lobby, she found Connor sitting on one of the couches. He glanced up when he saw her and was instantly on his feet.

"Hey…it's going to be fine, you just wait and see." Dawn nodded, not knowing how to describe her feelings at the moment. She was elated that they were going to treat her like part of the team and like an adult, but at the same time she was still very sad. She missed Willow and Faith already. Angel stepped into the lobby carrying trays.

"Dinner is ready, you two, come on." Connor smiled at Dawn and motioned with his head for her to follow them, which she did. She had a good feeling about this situation.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This chapter is a little short, but I decided to post it anyway. I've made Buffy a little meaner then I originally intended, but I'm going to try to rectify that in a later chapter._

_Special thanks for reviewing: _**miissBuffy, Xeelia, AND ba2006... **

Thanks so much for reviewing!! Please let me know what you think of this chapter! :)

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Chapter 2

Dinner was a fun experience for Dawn. Everyone sat at the table like a family and ate together. Even Angel sat there with a mug full of blood. They made sure to include her on all of the jokes. Dawn chalked it up to jet lag, but she found herself getting sadder every minute that passed because of how close they all were. She'd used to have this with Xander, Spike, and Giles. Now, they just chucked her out of the circle. When they finished eating, they went ahead and cleared the table. They wouldn't let her help them since it was her first day and they were celebrating. When they started to trickle back into the dining room, no one said anything. Angel waited for everyone to sit back down before he started speaking.

"Alright, I won't keep you long, I just want to discuss how this is going to go. Most of you have never met Buffy, but Dawn here is her sister. There was a bit of sisterly dispute, so we get the benefit of her knowledge. Dawn is pretty much an expert at research, translations, and demonology. Giles gave rave reviews. She's been trained by Buffy, Faith, and the senior slayers, so she can fight. Under no circumstances is anyone to exclude her from any case information. From this moment on, Dawn is part of the team." Everyone was giving her big smiles, trying to make her feel welcome and Dawn blushed profusely at Angel's speech. Wesley looked up and addressed her.

"Dawn, we are in desperate need for a case manager. Just someone to take each one of them and prioritize them by importance. Fred usually answers the phone and sets up the appointments. We'd also pay you, of course. If you want someone to train with you, Connor would be a very good choice if he's willing…Angel too for that matter." Dawn glanced over at Connor, who grinned and nodded at her. She started to say something, when a green demon burst through the door.

"Well, good evening all! Angel cakes, the new club is absolutely booming!" Angel glared at the new comer for a minute before addressing Dawn's alarmed face.

"Dawn, this is Lorne, I was telling you about him." Dawn's face immediately cleared and she grinned at him.

"Oh okay, Faith told me about you. She was a big fan." Lorne chuckled and turned to face her. His smile vanished when he looked at her and he gasped.

"Holy crickets on toast!" Angel sighed and shook his head. Clearly, they were all used to his weird way of talking.

"Yes Lorne, she's the key…It's been noted." Lorne shook his head and continued to stare at her.

"It's not that at all, there is a buzz of destiny around her. Honey, do you think you could sing for me later?" Dawn giggled, instantly liking him, and nodded.

"Um, sure, no problem." Lorne smiled really big back at her and sat down next to Gunn.

"Sorry about the staring, it just caught me off guard." Angel sat forward then, clearly annoyed.

"Anyway, Dawn, if you want to get a car, just let me know and we can arrange it. Basic rules, never do a case alone, never patrol alone, and keep a cell phone on you at all times so we can keep in touch." Dawn showed that the she understood, she actually really liked all of the rules. Wesley cleared his throat and gave her a pained expression. At this, Angel groaned and looked away while Wes spoke.

"There was one stipulation that your sister wouldn't bend on." Dawn waited, hoping it wasn't something stupid. Wesley looked over at Angel, who took over talking, still looking pained.

"You have to enroll at UCLA and take classes. She doesn't want you to commit yourself to this life, so you have to take at least two classes a semester." Dawn pursed her lips together, extremely pissed off. Everyone at the table looked very uncomfortable at what was just said. Her facial expression probably wasn't helping matters either. Did these people not realize that she was twenty years old? When she didn't say anything, Wesley and Angel shared a pointed look. Angel cleared his throat and looked around the table.

"Well, that's it really. Dawn, just let us know if and when you're ready to jump in." Dawn nodded and thanked everyone. She excused herself to the lobby so she could call. Buffy answered almost immediately.

"Dawn? You were supposed to call as soon as you landed!" Dawn glared around the empty room. Clearly distance didn't improve Buffy's mood.

"Look, I'm gonna stay here for a while because I don't want to hurt their feelings, but Buffy…you can't keep trying to control me. I'll do whatever I want with my life. I'm not sure if I want to go to UCLA. Buffy, you didn't choose this life, it chose you. Can't you see that it chose me too? I shouldn't even be alive, yet here I am! Of course this is the life I'm going to choose, it only makes sense. Because, believe it or not, the good side needs all of the help it can get right now." She heard silence on the other end and she almost hung up when she heard her sister's cold voice.

"Dawn, if you don't want to follow some simple rules over there, then Faith and I will come and collect you." Dawn groaned and plopped down on one of the couches, unaware that everyone was in the room now and watching her.

"Fine, I'll go back right now and I won't be here when you get here." Buffy swore and Dawn knew that she'd hit a nerve.

"Dawn, I'd be able to find you. You can't have it both ways. Either you stay there with Angel and do as your told, or you come back here and things go back to the way they were." Dawn's voice cracked as she spoke next, tears flowing freely now.

"Why can't you just love me, Buffy? I'm twenty years old and I'll do what I want from now on. I know enough magic to cover up my tracks if you insist on coming here. Buffy, I'm your sister and that's it. You're not mom and you're done trying to control me. I fought against the first evil with you….why did you shut me out?" Buffy sighed loudly, not wanting to discuss this.

"Dawn…we'll discuss this tomorrow, I'm very busy at the moment." Dawn scoffed knowing that Buffy was just blowing her off.

"That's fine, but in the mean time, I'll pack my stuff and be on my way." This got Buffy's attention…not in a good way.

"You know what, Dawn? Do whatever the hell you want, I'm done with you. You want to kill yourself? Try razor blades or pills instead of vampire hunting, it'll be less painful for all involved!" with that said, she slammed the phone down, leaving Dawn in shock. Fred walked silently over to where she sat and put her arm around her shoulders. Dawn didn't even acknowledge her presence…she was too in shock.

"She told me to use razor blades…I can't believe it!" Connor jerked his head up and glared.

"She said for you to do what?!" Angel walked out of the room with a growl. Fred continued to try and comfort Dawn while Gunn looked just as shocked as Dawn. Wesley sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.

"She's very stressed right now, Dawn, I'm sure she didn't mean it." Dawn was pretty much hysterical and started to laugh.

"Oh, she meant it alright! She's always hated me since day one of my stupid existence. She only tried to save me from Glory because she wanted to keep the portals from opening. She only died in my place because she wanted to die…she said so. As far as she cares, I shouldn't exist so I need to rectify it." Dawn jumped up and bolted out of the room towards her suite. She got as far as the second floor when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a gentle hug. Connor wrapped his arms around her and ran a soothing hand down her back. Dawn clinged to him as her sobs racked through her body. He spoke against her hair, not letting go of her.

"That was a stupid thing for your sister to say. You shouldn't see your existence as stupid, Dawn, it's a miracle. You've only been on the planet for five years…that's amazing." Dawn chuckled in between sniffles, trying to get control of herself.

"No, you being born of two vamps is a miracle." He laughed with her at that.

"You and I are both special…and don't you forget it. Also, if it makes you feel any better, my dad is totally yelling at your sister right now."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter! The song in this chapter is Queen's "Somebody to love" NOT MINE! Please please please review!_Chapter 3

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When Dawn finally let go of Connor, she had a hard time looking him in the eye. She was so incredibly embarrassed at her crying fits. She also couldn't believe that Buffy had said what she had to her. Did she really hate her that much? Sure, she'd done some stupid things in the past to try and get attention, but she'd grown up…why couldn't she see it? Then, here was Connor always being nice…it was disconcerting. She was wiping her eyes and she refused to look at him. That was twice now that she'd cried in front of him. She was still looking down when Connor put his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his.

"You'll be okay, you know. I hope you'll stay here." Dawn smiled softly…she couldn't deny those eyes anything.

"I can't really see myself going anywhere else at the moment." Connor smiled back at her then cocked his head to the side.

"Whoa, he is seriously ripping into your sis." Dawn raised an eyebrow at him.

"How can you hear him?" He blushed slightly and Dawn swore that she was about to drool.

"I've pretty much got all of the vampire strengths, but none of the weaknesses. Well, if someone stabbed me in the heart, I'd die…just not as neatly as a vamp." Dawn's eyes got wide at his statement. Was everyone a super being? He was so lucky!

"Wow! That's pretty kick ass, Connor…well…not about the dying thing…er." He blushed further and grinned. Dawn thought that she could look at him forever and it'd never get boring.

"I guess so. Wait, he's off the phone now." As if on queue, they heard him.

"Dawn, can you come back down here for a minute?" Dawn looked up at Connor's face and grimaced. He smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand. Dawn walked back down the steps to the lobby. Wesley was standing beside Angel, but Fred and Gunn had disappeared. Angel put his hands in his pocket and frowned at Dawn.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" She tilted her head to look at him closely. He seemed genuinely upset.

"Nothing that I can't get over." Angel stared for a moment longer.

"I…talked to Buffy. I'm not sure what's going on with her, but she apologized." Dawn scoffed, highly doubting it, but she didn't voice her thoughts. Angel fought to keep a smile off of his face.

"Dawn, I still want you to stay here. Everything that was said at the table still applies. Honestly, about the whole college thing, I think you should take some business classes…that never hurts, it would benefit you. As far as you finding a career…well, this is a career. It's hard to ignore it once you know the things exist." Dawn fought to keep her composure…he was being so…Angel.

"You're not going to force me to go?" Angel looked down and shook his head.

"It's like you said before, you're twenty. You're old enough to make your own decisions. I had no idea things were exactly that bad between the two of you, Dawn. Giles didn't go into that much detail." Dawn smiled brilliantly at him.

"I won't get into any trouble, Angel, I promise." He smiled fully at her this time and Dawn knew then what Buffy saw in him.

"I have no doubts about you, Dawn." With that, he walked away, and slowly…Wesley followed. She was about to turn around when Lorne stopped her.

"Hey, Sweet pea, do you mind singing for me now?" Dawn shrugged and walked over to him.

"Sure, what should I sing?" Lorne chuckled at her and shrugged.

"You can sing anything that's on your mind, sugar. You're feelings and future will pretty much flow into me." Dawn thought for a moment and then began to sing one of her favorite songs.

"_Can anybody…find me…somebody to love? _

_Each morning I get up I die a little Can barely stand on my feet _

_Take a look in the mirror and cry Lord what you're doing to me _

_I have spent all my years in believing you But I just can't get no relief, Lord! _

_Somebody, somebody Can anybody find me somebody to love?"_

She stopped singing, but Lorne motioned for her to continue. Fred poked her head around the corner to stare at her. Connor sat down on the step and placed his chin in his hands as he watched. Wesley stood in the doorway of his office, propped up against the frame. Lorne had his eyes closed with a smile on his face.

_"I work hard every day of my life _

_I work till I ache my bones _

_At the end I take home my hard earned pay all on my own - _

_I get down on my knees And I start to pray _

_Till the tears run down from my eyes Lord - _

_somebody - somebody Can anybody find me - somebody to love?"_

Lorne sat down on the couch and continued to listen, a huge smile on his face. Fred had walked fully into the room now, as did Gunn. Angel was listening to her at his desk with a soft smile on his face. Connor was staring at her with awe on his face…he'd never seen anyone look so beautiful as she did at that moment.

_"Everyday - I try and I try and I try - _

_But everybody wants to put me down _

_They say I'm goin' crazy They say I got a lot of water in my brain _

_Got no common sense I got nobody left to believe _

_Yeah - yeah yeah yeah _

_Oh Lord Somebody - somebody Can anybody find me somebody to love? _

_Got no feel, I got no rhythm I just keep losing my beat _

_I'm ok, I'm alright Ain't gonna face no defeat _

_I just gotta get out of this prison cell Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord! _

_Find me somebody to love Can anybody find me somebody to love? "_

When she finished singing, Lorne was staring at her. He didn't say anything at first, which made her worry. She looked around the room to see everyone standing there, and she blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. Lorne finally stood up and clapped.

"Sweet pea, that was absolutely beautiful! You are definitely in the right place at the right time, that's for sure. You've already met your prince charming…the person you're supposed to be with, that's what was buzzing at me earlier. It's fate that you're here, bun. I can't say much, but you will be very happy very soon." Dawn folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. That was it?

"You're serious? All of that…singing and you haven't told me anything…wow." Lorne sighed and stepped forward, taking her hands.

"Hon, I can only say what I say, but you're life is gonna change shortly. You're very important…treasured even." Dawn nodded, still skeptical of his abilities and started to walk away. Sensing her disbelief, Lorne groaned.

"Okay, how about this then…in two weeks time, your new path will be set before you. You will never fit in with the gang in Rome again because it's just not meant to be. Will you make up with your sister? Probably. That's really all I can tell you." Dawn stared after him as he walked away. Shaking her head, she turned to go up the steps, only to encounter Connor again. He immediately stood up, causing her pulse to quicken…prince charming? He smiled gently at her, his hair falling into his eyes.

"That was amazing, Dawn. Don't worry about Lorne, he always talks like that. Are you sleepy or do you possibly want to watch a movie with me?" Dawn felt the blush slowly creep up her neck at his words.

"I could go for watching a movie…what'd you have in mind?" Connor smiled mischievously at her and Dawn about fainted at the sight. Maybe she shouldn't be alone with him…she might make an even bigger idiot out of herself. He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.

"I've got the new Romero movie." Dawn's eyes lit up at his words, she absolutely loved horror movies!

"Get out! That's so awesome, I've been wanting to see it!" She followed him to his room and settled on his couch with him.

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Dawn woke up, very groggy and sore. She didn't recognize the room, but when she started to sit up, she remembered. She was snuggled up to Connor on his couch. They'd fallen asleep while talking. He'd told her about himself and how he'd grown up in another dimension. They'd swapped all kinds of information about one another. She'd told him about being the key and how the whole Glory thing went down. Her body was pretty much on top of Connor's. His arms were wrapped firmly around her middle, holding her to him and her head was rested on his chest. She took a deep breath and almost groaned at how good he smelled…not to mention how nice it felt to be held. She very carefully tried to sit up, but she didn't succeed. She did, however, wake Connor up with her movements. He yawned silently as he looked at her.

"Good morning." Dawn blushed and stopped struggling to get up. His arms just tightened around her.

"Good morning, Connor." He smiled and reluctantly released her, sitting up as she did. He stretched and then grinned over at her.

"Sorry about that, I'm not exactly sure how we got into that position." Dawn shrugged and looked down. The blush on her cheeks not fading.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I think I'm gonna go and get cleaned up." Connor stood up quickly, as if not wanting her to leave.

"Do you wanna spar with me later?" Dawn stopped at his door and looked at his pleading face. What was he doing to her?

"Sure, but you'll have to go easy on me with your vampire skills." He laughed as she walked out of his room.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Okay, here's another chapter for you! This one is longer then the last two, hope you like it! _

_Special thanks to: **Xeelia, ba2006, and beth.l **for reviewing, you guys are great! Please let me know what you think of this next chapter!_Chapter 4

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The work out with Connor was going pretty good in Dawn's opinion. He was a lot faster then Buffy and the others, but she was keeping up. While they were sparring, Wesley and Gunn walked in. They watched them for a minute, but then went to their own workouts. After about half an hour, Dawn started to sweat, but she was used to long work outs. They stopped after an hour and she started doing sit ups. She poured her frustration and anger into the movements until it felt like she wouldn't be able to move. After two sets, she stood up and stretched. She leaned up against the wall and watched and Gunn and Connor sparred. How was Connor not tired at all? Deciding to shower, she turned on her heel and collided with a hard chest. She jumped back and looked up to apologize only to have it die on her lips. Connor grinned over at them and called to the new comer.

"Hey Spike, feel up to taking me on today?" Dawn stared at the bleached blonde who was staring back. Gunn and Connor stopped what they were doing. Connor walked over to them and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Dawn, are you okay?" Spike was the first one to speak, smiling down at her finally.

"Dawnie…I forgot you were coming here. How've you been, bit?" Dawn's eyes filled up with tears as she looked at him. After a moment though, her sadness at him keeping himself a secret was replaced with anger. Without thinking of what she was doing, Dawn pulled her arm back and landed a punch right on his jaw. She pushed by him and ran to the kitchen. She reached the fridge and opened the freezer up. She located a rag and placed some ice on her hand. When she turned around, Angel was standing in the doorway with his eyebrow raised in question.

"Did you actually hit Connor?" Dawn saw the amusement on his face, but she couldn't bring herself to return his smile.

"No…I hit Spike…why didn't you tell me he was here?" Angel sighed and moved towards her. He could tell that she was still severely pissed off.

"Honestly, with everything that happened yesterday…I forgot to mention it. He comes and goes as he pleases, he's not really a part of our team." Dawn nodded and looked down, trying to hide her tortured face.

"We thought he was dead…Buffy said he didn't make it out of the school." Before Angel could answer her, Spike was there looking grim.

"I didn't make it out of there, pet." Dawn looked at the two vampires with confusion.

"Then how are you here, Spike? Please, enlighten me." He shrugged his shoulders, not meeting her eyes.

"I honestly can't tell you. One minute, I'm down under there burning up and then the next…I'm here. I was a bloody ghost, Dawn! I was walking through walls and everything!" Angel chuckled, remembering how it happened.

"IT was highly annoying, actually." Spike smirked at him, but Dawn ignored their jokes. She walked closer to Spike, making him look at her.

"When did you get fixed, Spike?" Spike winced at her words and looked down at his feet.

"I've been corporeal for over a year now." Dawn pursed her lips and glared at him.

"Right." She didn't say anything else, just walked by them, back into the lobby. She passed Connor and walked up the steps, ignoring him as he called her name. She closed her door once she reached it, locked it, and leaned against it. Needing to hear a friendly voice, she picked up her phone and dialed. When Xander answered, she sighed.

"Yo, Xan man!" Dawn giggled at the way he answered his phone.

"Xander…it's Dawn. You don't hate me too, do you?" Xander sucked in a breath at her words.

"Dawnie, don't ask questions like that, no one hates you! I miss you like crazy, Dawn. It's just not the same with you over there and not with us. I have no idea what's going on with Buffy." Dawn closed her eyes for a moment.

"This is so strange, Xander. They're all being very nice to me, but it's not the same. I sang for the empath demon and he said that I'll never be able to fit back in with you guys." Xander scoffed into the phone, not believing that for a minute.

"Well, what's that all about? Dawnie, you'll always be welcome here, especially in the house of Xander." Dawn smiled into the phone…he was such a dork. She missed Xander the most out of everyone.

"There's something else, Xander…it's Spike…he's here." Xander paused and Dawn felt better that it wasn't just her reacting like that.

"What the hell do you mean Spike is there? That's impossible, Dawnie, he didn't make it out of Sunnydale." Dawn walked over to her couch and sat down.

"I'm totally not joking, he's here. He said he came back, but he'd been a ghost or something. He said he's been corporeal now for over a year…why wouldn't he let us know he was alive…er…you know?" Again, Dawn heard silence on Xander's side of the line.

"Maybe he didn't know where we were, Dawnie." Dawn laughed coldly at the statement, that sure wasn't true.

"No, he's been staying with Angel." Xander paused again.

"Well, maybe he didn't know how to tell us."

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Dawn had stayed on the line with Xander for over an hour. They'd talked about everything until he'd had to go to sleep. Dawn had ignored all of the knocks on her door and had skipped dinner. She was curled up on her couch reading "Twilight", one of her favorite new novels. It was a vampire story and Dawn couldn't stop reading it. There was a soft knock on her door, which Dawn ignored. She continued reading when there was a louder, more persistent knock on her door. She tried to ignore that one, but whoever it was kept knocking on her door. She started groaning, because she heard yelling next.

"Leave her alone, Spike, she obviously doesn't want to see you!" Dawn was surprised to hear Connor's voice outside of her door. Spike's booming voice quickly followed.

"I think I know the little bit better then you do, brat, so sod off! Dawn and I are very close." Dawn stood up at that and threw the door open.

"Spike, if we're so close, why didn't you tell me when you were back?" Spike smirked at Connor and then walked into the room.

"See? Pet, if we weren't close, you wouldn't have opened the door just then. Look, I'm sorry for being a ponce and not contacting you, it's very complicated. Now, where is your sister, I should talk to her."

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An hour later, Spike and Dawn were laughing in her living room floor. She'd told him about the whole mess with Buffy and he'd been dutifully pissed on her behalf. They both agreed not to tell Buffy about his presence. She was so happy to have someone she was comfortable around to talk to. She filled him on what happened to them after Sunnydale and he filled her in on most of what happened to him. They decided that they'd earned a good patrol, so they'd left together to wander around the neighborhood. They were walking around a cemetery when he paused to talk to her.

"You know Angel's brat has a thing for you, right?" Dawn blushed bright pink.

"Nah, we've just been getting know each other, that's all." Spike snorted at her, clearly not believing her.

"You Summer's women are so daft! He's completely bonkers over you! He stares at you, he's very defensive towards you…he's batty!" Dawn rolled her eyes and shook her head. Spike just laughed with her.

"You just wait, bit. The next time you see him, watch how he looks at you…the blush…the eyes…you'll see." Dawn stopped in her tracks and wasn't looking at him anymore.

"Vampires." Spike stopped and followed her gaze.

"Good eye, Dawn….about three of them." The group of vamps didn't notice them, they were having too much fun playing with a crying girl.

"Spike, she can't be more then ten years old." Spike nodded, agreeing and pulled a crossbow out of his duster.

"You got your stakes and holy water?" Dawn reached in her pocket and pulled a stake out. Spike took aim and shot of them perfectly through the heart. The other two jumped around as it vanished into dust and surged towards them. Spike grinned and threw the crossbow down on the ground.

"Get read, Dawn." Dawn took her stance as the smallest one jumped up in the air toward her. She was ready for him, because he jumped over her head, giving her the advantage to land a kick to his knee. He howled more in anger then in pain and turned around to face her. Dawn blocked all of his punches, but couldn't stop the kick it landed on her side. She tumbled to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of her. The vampire walked forward slowly and grinned.

"Little girls shouldn't play with pointy items…they might get hurt." Dawn set her lips together and glared at him. She waited for him to strike, and she rolled over, jumping up on her feet.

"Little vampires, shouldn't play with slayers." The vamp turned towards her, his smile now gone.

"Slayer?" Dawn just smiled as he jumped towards her. She dodged once more and she staked him from behind. She stood up straight with a sigh as he burst into ashes. She turned towards Spike, who was having way too much fun. She rolled her eyes and ran over to where the girl still stood. Spike raised his head and yelled.

"Stay away from her, Dawn! It's a trap, she's a vampire!" Dawn stopped in her tracks, but she hadn't been fast enough. The little girl sprung forward and tackled Dawn. Dawn struggled to get her off him when all of the sudden, she wasn't there anymore. Dawn stood up and saw that Connor had tackled her back and gotten her off of Dawn. He made quick work of her and dusted her. He turned to glare at Dawn, anger in his eyes. Dawn ignored the look and ran over to help Spike. Spike wasn't in the winning position, so she picked up his lost stake and shoved into the vamp's back. Standing up, Spike swiped his jacket clean.

"You alright, bit?" Dawn grinned and mimicked her favorite slayer.

"Five by five, Spike." Spike chuckled and they both turned towards Connor, who was still glaring. Spike raised an eyebrow, not really intimidated.

"Oy, what's with the look, princess?" Dawn giggled at what he called Connor, but he just walked forward, still pissed.

"What the hell were you guys doing out here? My dad said that Dawn couldn't go hunting without me or Gunn." Dawn made a face at his words, not liking the authoritative sound.

"I was perfectly fine with Spike, Connor." Spike glanced at Dawn and chuckled.

"Don't defend yourself to this Ponce, Dawn. He has no right getting in your face. I would have taken care of you, you would have been fine." Connor sneered at him.

"Oh yeah? Then why did I have to save her and then she have to save you? Dawn, you don't come out here alone again." Dawn stepped forward, really pissed now.

"Connor, you don't tell me what to do. I trust Spike way more then I trust you. Spike has always protected me, I don't know who you think you are. Come on, Spike, I could really go for one those onion blossoms you keep talking about." Spike's eyes lit up at her words. He paused and looked at Connor before following her.

"Later, Nancy."

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_A/N: HEE HEE! I JUST HAD TO ADD SPIKE INTO THE MIX, FOR I LOVE HIM SO!!!!! PLEASE REIVEW!!_


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